Katowice

New business services centre in Katowice

TPG Katowice, subsidiary of Teleperformance Germany belonging to the Teleperformance Group, a world leader in multichannel customer care services, will open its unit in Katowice. The company has signed a lease agreement for 2,300 sq m of modern office space in the "Alder" building in GPP Business Park, to open a centre of technical and IT support for external clients.

The company will move to its new office in late October. During the search for the location and the negotiations of lease terms, TPG Katowice was represented by experts from the international advisory company JLL.

Thomas Güther, CEO of Teleperformance Germany, said: "Most important for the location of our new site was the access and availability of educated staff with near native German language skills. Having analysed factors such as labour market, transportation and office infrastructure, we decided on Katowice, and then on GPP Business Park as an outstanding, very high quality location and therefore a perfect place to work at for our employees as well as to deliver to our high value brands and clients in the future. We will recruit up to 250 people in the next months".

Mirosław Czarnik, CEO, Górnośląski Park Przemysłowy, said: "The decision of TPG Katowice to choose GPP Business Park confirms the high standard of the building, and proves that it is an attractive location for business services companies seeking modern, efficient and flexible office space which will enable the further expansion of their structures. I am certain TPG Katowice will be satisfied with their choice."

"Alder" is the third building within the GPP Business Park complex. The project is located in the north of Katowice, at Konduktorska Street 33, which is within the area of the Katowice Special Economic Zone. The complex has good connections to the city centre and is well-served by public transport. GPP Business Park has 25,000 sq m of modern, energy-efficient office space. Modern solutions and energy-efficient equipment used in the project increase the comfort of work and allow for the reduction of maintenance costs. The A-class office buildings use trigeneration system that enables production of electricity, heating and cooling from natural gas. Standard also includes sophisticated daylight/blinds/artificial light controls connected to the heliometric sensor on the roof. Advanced HVAC system is monitored with 1,500 sensors and BMS system provides data on the building's performance. It should be noted that the first building of the complex (Goeppert-Mayer) is the only building in Poland granted a BREEAM certification at the OUTSTANDING level.

Kamil Krępa, Senior Consultant, Office Agency and Tenant Representation JLL, commented: "We are happy to have cooperated with Teleperformance Group on the new TPG Katowice services centre in Poland. What is important, is that our cooperation not only entailed finding the office location that matched our client's needs, and representing the company during negotiations, but also the advice we imparted during the choice of the city location for the new branch. Katowice met all expectations concerning both the availability of staff and modern office infrastructure."

Katowice, with total office stock of 337,000 sq m, is the largest office market in the Silesia Agglomeration, and fifth among major Polish cities, after Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Tri-City. In 2014, record levels of demand and developer activity are expected. In H1, lease agreements of 34,500 sq m were signed (compared to 32,000 sq m in H1 of 2013, and 60,500 sq m through 2013), proving that the Katowice office market enjoys the continuing interest of tenants. At the same time, developers are aware of the trend and remain active, so the market in Katowice will gain 67,000 sq m more office space supply in 2014.

Katowice is also a recognised location for business services sector projects. Apart from a well-developed labour market and infrastructure, investors highly value the advantages that this location provides, such as the open attitude of municipal authorities to active cooperation with investors, the strong support of the Katowice Special Economic Zone, and the activities of Association of Business Service Leaders. A number of leading global brands, such as Capgemini, IBM, PwC, ING, Unilever, Ericsson or Oracle, have their business services units in Katowice.